System and method for automated preparation of food-based materials

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an invention in the field of automated food preparation. The present invention particularly relates to a system and method to prepare food items by automatically placing food items on a food preparation surface utilizing a multi-axis robot. Upon loading predetermined coordinates into a computing device, a computer program calculates the instructs the robot via a controller to load the required food items via one or more food ingredient dispensing heads automatically.

This application includes material that is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in thePatent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves allcopyright rights whatsoever.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH

None.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 62/385,486, filed on Sep. 9, 2016, titled “System and Methodfor Automated Dispensing of Food-Based Materials,” the content of whichis incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to the field of automatedassembly. In particular, the present invention relates to automateddispensing of food or food-based materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

There are currently several methods for automated manufacture of highvolume food products. The advantages of these systems over conventional,manual food preparation and creation are speed of manufacturing, portioncontrol, and low cost of final product. These methods produce productsof the same configuration with minimal opportunity for customization.These methods are also designed for large scale production and notreally suited for local restaurants and individual proprietors due totheir price, size, and lack of need for high volume.

As an example, local pizza chains and proprietors produce pizza by handin a build-to-order process. This process allows the customer to customdesign their pizza, to some degree by, selecting specific toppings,crust, etc. The process of customization requires operators to build thecustom pizza by hand which creates variability in the quantity ofmaterial as well as the quality and even distribution of material. Allfactors which affect price and the customer experience. There is alsothe hygiene aspect of creating a hand built pizza which is reliant onthe diligence of the operator's cleanliness. Further, while there aresemi-automated pizza and food component delivery systems, there remainsa need for automated pizza and other food creation systems in the areaof customized, hygienic, volume consistent production. Another factor indispensing some food ingredients is that the materials are difficultfeed in a controlled manner due to how they are presented. As anotherexample, cheeses, especially mozzarella, tend to clump and sticktogether making it difficult to get even distribution. On sausageproducts, they are difficult to dispense in the pre-sliced configurationas they tend to stick together and are difficult to dispense one at atime. Further, while these technological advances have allowed forautomated application of food ingredients, there remains a need in theart custom designed and automated assembly of food items.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure addresses failings in the art by providing asystem to programmatically dispense items such as pepperoni, cheese,sauce, sausage, hamburger, etc. on a pizza or other food products. It isone object of the disclosure to automatically dispense ingredients on apizza or other food product using multiple, interchangeable ingredientheads, some driven by a motor and utilizing a multi-axis robot. It is asecond object of this present disclosure to utilize a dispensing headthat consists of a drive system, tool changing device, and multiple endeffector heads for dispensing ingredients. It is another object of thepresent disclosure for a user to create digital representations ofingredients, in specific patterns or designs, onto a digitalrepresentation of the pizza crust or other food product. This digitaldesign could be created on a computer or mobile device. Once the digitaldesign is created the information is sent to the system for creation ofthe pizza or other product.

Current creation of pizza and other multiple component food products isa time consuming process that is done by hand with minimal quantitycontrol and cleanliness. Known methods to create custom designs of pizzaare limited to specific quantities and not design unless created by auser. It is one object of this disclosure to have the creation of themajority of the pizza or other food product at one station with onerobot. The robot would pick the ingredient dispenser from its location,dispense the ingredient in the programmed pattern and quantity and thenreturn the ingredient dispenser to its storage location. This processwould repeat until all ingredients of the design have been dispensed.Additional toppings that are not included in the automation can be addedby hand.

It is another object of this disclosure that the dispensing heads fordispensing some of the ingredients address the issue with automatingdelivery and control of some of the food products. By grating the cheeseas it is applied to the product, the clumping and consistency after itis applied is addressed. By slicing the pepperoni as it is dispensed,the placement location is controlled.

It is another object of this disclosure that, as the business volumeincreases, additional systems can be placed in series or parallel toincrease production. The cell could be configured to apply a reducedsubset of ingredients where, for example, one system dispenses the sauceand cheese and a second system dispenses the pepperoni and otheringredients.

The present disclosure may further provide methods reducing the amountof required tending of the system by adding additional feeding modulesto the system. This would include cheese block feeders that pre-chillthe cheese for grating, pepperoni dispensers that automatically loadpepperoni into the feeding head when it is empty, ground sausage andhamburger dispensers that load additional ingredients into theingredient dispenser, etc. All of these items have the benefit ofreducing the interaction of an individual with the system.

The present disclosure further provides a controller device comprisingsoftware which allows for a user to create designs to be implementedonto an object. The controller comprises may include storage for designsand artwork available to create designs based on the ingredientsavailable. The controller allows for various functions including design,review, and modification of the applicable design for applyingingredients to an object. The controller may be connected to a computerwhere software communicates with the controller to activate and controlthe application of ingredients to a product.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus for preparation of food items, comprising: a robot assemblyhaving a dispensing master; one or more of a removably attachable foodingredient dispensing head within reach of the dispensing master of therobot assembly, wherein the one or more removably attachable foodingredient dispensing head is selected from a group consisting of: saucedispensing heads, cheese dispensing heads, sliced food dispensing heads,and ground food dispensing heads, wherein the dispensing master isoperably connectible to the each of one or more removably attachablefood ingredient dispensing heads; a food ingredient dispensing headsupport surface for storing the one or more food ingredient dispensingheads within reach of the robot assembly; a food preparation surfacewithin reach of the robot assembly for preparing food items; and acontroller in electronic communication with the robot assembly via acommunication link further comprising a computing device, memory storingcomputer-executable instructions, and one or more processors.

In one aspect the robot assembly comprises a multi-axis robotconfigurable to perform predetermined movements. In another aspect thedispensing master further comprises a master tool motor. In anotheraspect the dispensing master further comprises a gripping device forremovably attaching a food ingredient dispensing head. In another aspectthe one or more food ingredient dispensing heads comprise at least onesauce dispensing head. In another aspect the one or more food ingredientdispensing heads comprise at least one cheese dispensing head. Inanother aspect the one or more food ingredient dispensing heads compriseat least one sliced food dispensing head.

In one aspect the one or more food ingredient dispensing heads compriseat least one ground food dispensing head. The sauce dispensing head mayfurther comprise a reservoir and a pump capable of pumping sauce fromthe reservoir onto the food item.

The cheese dispensing head may further comprise a grating disk driven bya dispensing master tool motor and a cylinder for applying pressure to acheese block. The cheese dispensing head may further comprise athermo-coupler operably connected to a chilled coupler while in storageto maintain temperature of the cheese.

In another aspect, the ground food dispensing head further comprises apaddle wheel or auger driven by a dispensing master tool motor movesingredients out of a reservoir onto the food items.

In yet another aspect, the sliced food dispensing head further comprisesa blade for slicing meat extruded through a storage tube located on thesliced food dispensing head, said blade driven by a dispensing mastertool motor, and wherein the sliced food is sliced to drop onto a fooditem at a programmed position.

In another aspect the food preparation surface transfer device iscapable of transferring food into and from the food preparation surface.The surface transfer device may comprise a conveyor belt, or the surfacetransfer device may comprise a tray system removable by the robotassembly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method forplacement of food items on a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a)positioning a food preparation surface within reach of a robot assemblyhaving a dispensing master; (b) removably and operably attaching one ormore food ingredient dispensing heads to the dispensing master locatedon the robot assembly, wherein the one or more removably attachable foodingredient dispensing heads are selected from a group consisting of:sauce dispensing heads, cheese dispensing heads, sliced food dispensingheads, and ground food dispensing heads; (c) dispensing at least onefood ingredient from the at least one of the one or more food ingredientdispensing heads at a preconfigured location via the robot assemblyhaving attached the at least one food ingredient dispensing head; andrepeating steps (a) through (c) for the number of food ingredientsdesired for the number of food items on the food preparation surface.

In one aspect, the sauce is dispensed from the sauce dispensing headonto a food item from a reservoir pressurized by a pump capable ofpressurizing sauce from the reservoir, through the sauce dispensing headonto the food item.

In another aspect, cheese dispensed from the dispensing head onto fooditems by a grating disk driven by a dispensing master tool motor and acylinder for applying pressure to a cheese block.

In another aspect, ground foods are dispensed from the ground fooddispensing head by operating an auger driven by the dispensing mastertool motor to move ground food out of a hopper onto food items.

In another aspect, sliced foods are dispensed from the sliced fooddispensing head by operating a blade for slicing food extruded through astorage tube located on the sliced food dispensing head, said bladedriven by a dispensing master tool motor, and wherein the sliced food issliced to drop onto a food item at a programmed position.

In another aspect of the present invention, the food items areautomatically transferred to and from the food preparation surface. Thismay occur by the food preparation surface comprising a conveyor belt onthe food preparation surface. Alternatively, the surface transfer devicecomprises a tray system removable by the robot assembly.

The details of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are setforth in the accompanying drawings and description below. Other aspects,features and advantages will be apparent from the description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from the following description ofembodiments as illustrated in the accompanying figures and drawings.

FIG. 1A depicts an overhead orthographic view of the system preparingmultiple food products.

FIG. 1B depicts an overhead perspective view of the system preparingmultiple food products.

FIG. 1C depicts a front orthographic view of the system preparingmultiple food products.

FIG. 1D depicts a first side orthographic view of the system preparingmultiple food products.

FIG. 1E depicts a second side orthographic view of the system preparingmultiple food products.

FIG. 1F depicts a rear orthographic view of the system preparingmultiple food products.

FIG. 2 depicts an isometric view of the system of the presentdisclosure, including the robot arm, robot master tool, four ingredienttools, ingredient storage and the product transfer.

FIG. 3 depicts an isometric view of the robot with the robot mastertool.

FIG. 4 depicts an isometric view of the robot with master tool andsliced food slicer.

FIG. 5A depicts a top perspective view of the robot master tool.

FIG. 5B depicts a bottom perspective view of the robot master tool.

FIG. 6 depicts an exploded view of the robot master tool.

FIG. 7 depicts an isometric view of the sliced food slicer mounted tothe robot master tool.

FIG. 8A depicts an upper isometric view of the sliced food slicer beforeattachment to the robot master tool.

FIG. 8B depicts a lower isometric view of the sliced food slicer beforeattachment to the robot master tool.

FIG. 9 depicts an exploded view of the sliced food slicer.

FIG. 10 depicts an isometric view of a cheese grater mounted to therobot master tool.

FIG. 11 depicts an isometric view of the cheese grater before attachmentto the robot master tool.

FIG. 12 depicts an exploded view of the cheese grater.

FIG. 13 depicts an isometric view of the sauce dispenser mounted to therobot master tool.

FIG. 14 depicts an isometric view of the sauce dispenser beforeattachment to the robot master tool.

FIG. 15 depicts an exploded view of the sauce dispenser.

FIG. 16 depicts an isometric view of the ground product dispensermounted to the robot master tool.

FIG. 17 depicts an isometric view of the ground product dispenser beforeattachment to the robot master tool.

FIG. 18 depicts an exploded view of the ground product dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts thatcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts, goods, orservices. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merelyillustrative of specific ways to make and use the disclosure and do notdelimit the scope of the disclosure.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in the specificationare indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art towhich this disclosure pertains. All publications and patent applicationsare herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if eachindividual publication or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying figures and drawings, which form a parthereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exampleembodiments. Subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety ofdifferent forms and, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter isintended to be construed as not being limited to any example embodimentsset forth herein; example embodiments are provided merely to beillustrative. Likewise, a reasonably broad scope for claimed or coveredsubject matter is intended. Among other things, for example, subjectmatter may be embodied as methods, compositions, processes, or systems.The following detailed description is, therefore, not intended to betaken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in anotherembodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a differentembodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matterinclude combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage incontext. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as usedherein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least inpart upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” ifused to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B,and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here usedin the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as usedherein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describeany feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may beused to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristicsin a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” again,may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a pluralusage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term“based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey anexclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence ofadditional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, dependingat least in part on context.

For the purposes of the present invention, a robot arm assembly is amechanical robot usable for an industrial robot adapted to freely bendto realize a pattern of movement having a high ability of movement,excellent reachability and high accuracy by virtue of a comparativelysmall amount of rotational movement and a comparatively large amount oftranslational movement. The robot arm has cylindrical arm flexiblyconnected to one after another via joints, and the arm portions compriseone upper arm, at least one intermediate arm and one lower arm. Coupledto the lower arm is a hand, or end-of-arm tool which is capable ofperforming certain predetermined tasks. As an exemplary embodiment, therobot arm may be an A 6-axis robot, such as a FANUC LR MATE 200ID, isconfigured to convert given position data, which is expressed by fixedthree-dimensional orthogonal coordinates, to angle data for a rotationjoint of the robot and move an end effector (i.e., hand) of the robot toa position indicated by the position data.

Robot arms used in such systems are jointed so that the tool can bemoved to any position within a three-dimensional envelope, commonlyreferred to as the working envelope of the arm. The actual movement ofthe joints of the arm is accomplished by motors or other actuators. Theoperation of the motors is usually accomplished under computer control.In this regard, in state-of-the-art robotic systems, the arms arecontrolled by computer means which include one or more processors foreffecting movement of the arm to various positions within the workingvolume in accordance with predetermined teachable and repeatableprograms. To accomplish such control, the joint motors frequently haveassociated with them encoders to provide signals indicative of jointposition. These signals are operated on by mathematical computationmeans in the system's computing device so that the exact position of therobot assembly within the working volume is determined to insureaccurate arm positioning when the joint motors are operated to move thearm to another position within the working volume.

In one embodiment information is passed to a controller and robot armassembly via a communication link. The robot will dynamically adjust theW orientation for optimum orientation of the robot for the particularplace. In one embodiment, the robot coordinate system (an X, Y, Z, U, V,W user coordinate system) is set up such that the coordinate system forthe product in the computer program instructions matches the usercoordinate system. The computing device reads in the X, Y, Z, U, & Vdata for the food items selected.

For the purposes of the present disclosure “food ingredients” includes,but is not limited to: sauces, meat items in either stick, chopped,diced, ground, and the like, cheese of all types including block cheese,grated cheese, powdered cheese or liquid cheese, ground foods includingmeats, fruits, vegetables, and spices, as well as other ingredients suchas vegetables, pickles, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, spices, and the like,in all of the aforementioned forms, sizes, shapes, and types. “Fooditems” or “food products” are prepared foods such as sandwiches,hamburgers, pizzas, calzones, gyros, salads, food platters, hand heldfoods, pies, desserts, and other foods for consumption by animals.

Turning to the present disclosure, a preferred embodiment comprises anapparatus having a device retrieving various food ingredient dispensingheads and placing them on an object. The device comprises a robotassembly having a master tool with a tool motor and a gripping device,referred to as the ‘dispensing master’. The gripping device can attachto multiple food ingredient dispensing heads, such as a sauce dispensinghead, a cheese dispensing head, a sliced food dispensing head, and aground food dispensing head. The attachment of the gripping device toingredient dispensers also couples the tool motor drive output to theingredient drive input.

In another exemplary embodiment, a food ingredient dispensing head isprovided for slicing and dispensing cased food products such aspepperoni, sliced meats, ground meats, cheeses, sauces, and the like,where the dispensing master tool motor drives a blade that slices thepepperoni which then drops onto the pizza at a programmed position.Multiple diameters of pepperoni can be sliced by changing the magazinecylinder and different thicknesses can be sliced by changing the bladeholder on the dispenser.

In another embodiment, a cheese dispensing head is provided for gratingblock cheeses such as mozzarella, where the dispensing master tool motordrives one of a grating drum, grating plate, or grating disk, while acylinder applies pressure to a block of cheese. The force of thecylinder, the speed of the drive tool motor, and the speed of the robotmovement will allow the precise application coverage of cheese on thepizza. The cheese reservoir would have a thermal coupler that, when theingredient head is not on the robot but in the ingredient storageenclosure, the thermal coupler will contact a chilled coupler in theenclosure. This attachment will keep the cheese block cold, allowing formore consistent grating of the cheese.

In another exemplary embodiment, a sauce dispensing head for dispensingsauce such as tomato based pizza sauce, where sauce is pumped from areservoir, through a hose, to the ingredient dispensing head. Theingredient dispensing head creates a fan pattern of sauce when dispensedon the pizza. The dispensing head orientation is controlled by the drivetool motor providing maximum coverage on the pizza in the minimum amountof time. The coverage amount is controlled by the speed of the pump andthe speed of the robot. In another embodiment, the ingredient would be around head that would allow the head to create a line pattern which,when driven by the robot, would allow creation of unique designs.

In another embodiment, a ground food dispensing head for dispensingground or chopped food products such as ground beef, ground sausage,chopped onions, chopped jalapenos, etc., where a paddle wheel or augerdriven by the master tool drive moves ingredients out of a reservoironto the food items, such as a pizza crust. The dispensing quantitywould be controlled by the speed of the tool motor and the speed of therobot.

In another embodiment, an ingredient storage enclosure, where ingredientheads are stored in a climate controlled area. The storage enclosurewould consist of tool racks that precisely locate the ingredient headsfor pick-up by the robot. The enclosure would have an inner and outerdoor allowing access to the tooling by the robot from the inner door andallowing access to the tooling by the user from the outer door. Thedoors will be designed such that the outer doors cannot be opened unlessthe inner door is closed or the robot is in a safe state.

In another embodiment, a tray transfer device to move the food items,such as unprepared dough or bread, into the system and out of theapparatus food preparation surface. The transfer device moves a trayholding the food item into position on the food preparation surface forapplication of ingredients. The transfer device may comprise twoconveyors or a walking beam type push transfer. The robot may further becapable of handling a tray of food items and transferring it into andout of food preparation apparatus.

In another embodiment, a computer assists in creating and implementingthe ingredient design to be placed upon the object of interest. Thesoftware or computer-based features of present disclosure is describedherein with reference to block diagrams and operational illustrations ofmethods and devices. It is understood that each block of the blockdiagrams or operational illustrations, and combinations of blocks in theblock diagrams or operational illustrations, can be implemented by meansof analog or digital hardware and computer program instructions. Thesecomputer program instructions can be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, ASIC, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, implement the functions/acts specified in theblock diagrams or operational block or blocks. In some alternateimplementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks can occur out ofthe order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, twoblocks shown in succession can in fact be executed substantiallyconcurrently or the blocks can sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

For the purposes of this disclosure a computer readable medium (orcomputer-readable storage medium/media) stores computer data, which datacan include computer program code (or computer-executable instructions)that is executable by a computer, in machine readable form. By way ofexample, and not limitation, a computer readable medium may comprisecomputer readable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data,or communication media for transient interpretation of code-containingsignals. Computer readable storage media, as used herein, refers tophysical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includeswithout limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for thetangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data. Computer readablestorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical ormaterial medium which can be used to tangibly store the desiredinformation or data or instructions and which can be accessed by acomputer or processor. For the purposes of this disclosure a networkshould be understood to refer to a network that may couple devices sothat communications may be exchanged, such as between a server and aclient device or other types of devices, including between wirelessdevices coupled via a wireless network, for example. A network may alsoinclude mass storage, such as network attached storage (NAS), a storagearea network (SAN), or other forms of computer or machine readablemedia, for example. A network may include the Internet, one or morelocal area networks (LANs), one or more wide area networks (WANs),wire-line type connections, wireless type connections, cellular or anycombination thereof. Likewise, sub-networks, which may employ differingarchitectures or may be compliant or compatible with differingprotocols, may interoperate within a larger network. Various types ofdevices may, for example, be made available to provide an interoperablecapability for differing architectures or protocols. As one illustrativeexample, a router may provide a link between otherwise separate andindependent LANs. A communication link or channel may include, forexample, analog telephone lines, such as a twisted wire pair, a coaxialcable, full or fractional digital lines including T1, T2, T3, or T4 typelines, Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital SubscriberLines (DSLs), wireless links including satellite links, or othercommunication links or channels, such as may be known to those skilledin the art. Furthermore, a computing device or other related electronicdevices may be remotely coupled to a network, such as via a telephoneline or link, for example. For purposes of this disclosure, a wirelessnetwork should be understood to couple client devices with a network. Awireless network may employ stand-alone ad-hoc networks, mesh networks,Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, or the like. A wirelessnetwork may further include a system of terminals, gateways, routers, orthe like coupled by wireless radio links, or the like, which may movefreely, randomly or organize themselves arbitrarily, such that networktopology may change, at times even rapidly. A wireless network mayfurther employ a plurality of network access technologies, includingLong Term Evolution (LTE), WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, or 2nd, 3rd,or 4th generation (2G, 3G, or 4G) cellular technology, or the like.Network access technologies may enable wide area coverage for devices,such as client devices with varying degrees of mobility, for example.

For example, a network may enable RF or wireless type communication viaone or more network access technologies, such as Global System forMobile communication (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSMEnvironment (EDGE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n,or the like. A wireless network may include virtually any type ofwireless communication mechanism by which signals may be communicatedbetween devices, such as a client device or a computing device, betweenor within a network, or the like.

A computing device may be capable of sending or receiving signals, suchas via a wired or wireless network, or may be capable of processing orstoring signals, such as in memory as physical memory states, and may,therefore, operate as a server. Thus, devices capable of operating as aserver may include, as examples, dedicated rack-mounted servers, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, set top boxes, integrated devices combiningvarious features, such as two or more features of the foregoing devices,or the like. Servers may vary widely in configuration or capabilities,but generally a server may include one or more central processing unitsand memory. A server may also include one or more mass storage devices,one or more power supplies, one or more wired or wireless networkinterfaces, one or more input/output interfaces, or one or moreoperating systems, such as Windows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux,FreeBSD, or the like. A computing device may further include a mobiledevice, such as a smartphone, tablet, or other handheld devicescomprising wireless capability.

The system configuration of the robot comprising the master tool andingredient heads is driven by a computing device which transmits theingredient head to be used, the size of the object to be assembled, thelocation of the ingredients on the object, and the quantity or densityof the ingredients on the object. The robot controller has a controlunit and network interface unit. The computing device has a computerreadable medium capable of dragging stored ingredients corresponding tothe applicable ingredient heads available to the robot. Designs may beincorporated via known available means, and the image is converted to aworkable graphical representation of the object to be decorated. Thedesign capability allows for the desired pattern of ingredients to beattached to the object. Upon completion of the design of the decorativeelement placement, the control unit receives, via a bus, the design tobe implemented. The design capability also allows for the setting ofquantities of materials in the design such as more or less sauce, moreor less cheese, etc.

Certain embodiments will now be described in greater detail withreference to the figures. Referencing FIGS. 1A-F, the system of thepresent disclosure comprises a robot capable of movement around anobject. The robot chassis carries a movable dispensing master head withreplaceable ingredient heads to place ingredients on an object. Thedispensing master is a member which is attached to the arm of the robotand is capable of attaching to multiple ingredient heads. The ingredientheads are members which, when attached to the dispensing master, arecapable of placing ingredients on the object.

Turning to FIG. 1A, the robot arm, or robot 101, is centrally locatedwithin an enclosed facility comprising one or more food items 102, thedispensing master 104 is equipped from time to time with one or morefood ingredient dispensing heads 103, capable of dispensing variousingredients. The robot 101 is further capable of placing the dispensingmaster 104 in a position to disconnect and connect to various dispensingheads located distally from the central axis of the robot 101.

FIG. 1B provides a top perspective view of an automated food preparationsystem 105 of the present invention, comprising a robot having adispensing master 108 capable of retrieving one or more dispensing headsfrom an available surface 107, for purposes of dispensing one or morefood ingredients onto a food item 106. FIG. 1C provides a frontorthogonal view of the system of the present invention, wherein a base112 provides a surface comprising food items 110 which may be furtherprocessed via a robot 109 centrally located within the system. The robot109 is capable of retrieving one or more food ingredient dispensingheads 111 from an available food ingredient dispensing head supportsurface.

FIG. 1D provides a first side orthogonal view of the system 113comprising a robot 115, dispensing master 116 and one or more foodingredient dispensing heads 114 for dispensing the one or more foodingredients. The food preparation surface 117 comprises food items beingprepared via the robot 115 and various food ingredient dispensing heads114. FIG. 1E provides a second orthogonal view of the system 118comprising a robot 122, dispensing master with dispensing head attached123, and a storage surface 120 for the various food ingredientdispensing heads 119. The storage surface 120 is located above a foodpreparation surface 121, allowing for the robot 122 to access thevarious food ingredient dispensing heads 119. In one embodiment, atleast one food ingredient dispensing head is utilized. In anotherembodiment, at least two food ingredient dispensing heads are utilized.In yet another embodiment, at least three food ingredient dispensingheads are utilized. In another embodiment, more than three ingredientdispensing heads are utilized by the system of the present invention.

FIG. 1F provides a rear orthogonal view of the system of the presentinvention. The food preparation system 125 comprises one or more rearwindows 124 capable of opening for purposes of providing operator accessor access to other food ingredients, containers, or dispensing heads.Food dispensing heads 127 are available to the robot 126 for foodpreparation activities.

FIG. 2 provides an isometric view of the entire system, including thefood preparation system 201. Referencing FIG. 2 the robot 203 is capableof retrieving the desired ingredient from the ingredient enclosure viaavailable food ingredient dispensing heads 204, 205, 206. The robot 203then operates to dispense food ingredients to the food items 202. Oncefully prepared the food items are removed, either manually orautomatically via the robot. The food preparation system 201 outer dooropens allowing retrieval of the prepared food items. In one embodiment,the food preparation system is capable of creation of a pizza using asliced food dispensing head, 206, a cheese grater dispensing head 204,and a ground ingredient dispensing head 205, and further a saucedispensing head, which may be presented on a storage surface 207. Therobot 203 moves to the position of the desired dispensing head andaligns the dispensing master locating pins on the sauce dispensing headalignment holes. The robot 203 then clamps or grasps the saucedispensing head with the clamp features, locking the dispensing masterto the sauce dispensing head. This operation also aligns the dispensingmaster drive output to the dispensing head drive input. The robot 203then removes the applicable food ingredient dispensing head from theingredient dispensing head storage surface 207. Once the robot is clearfrom the ingredient dispensing head 204, 205, 206 storage surface 207the robot then addresses the object of interest by interpreting thecomputer program instructions. The robot 203 then moves the foodingredient dispensing head over the food items 202 in the programmedpattern, controlling the robot speed, dispensing or pump speed, headorientation, or pump on and off control. Once dispensing of the desiredingredient is complete, the robot 203 returns the dispensing head to theingredient dispensing head 204, 206, 206 storage surface 207.

The computer program then interprets the next ingredient to be applied.For example, cheese is programmed as the next ingredient. The robot armthen retrieves the cheese dispensing head 204 in the same process as wasfollowed with the previous food ingredient dispensing head. The arm thenaddresses the food item 202 of interest by interpreting the computerprogram instructions. The robot then moves the cheese dispensing head203 over the object in the programmed pattern, controlling the robotspeed, grater speed, and cheese pressure. Once dispensing of the cheeseis complete, the robot returns the cheese dispensing head 203 to theingredient enclosure.

The computer program then interprets the next ingredient to be applied.In one example, ground meat is the next ingredient. The robot arm thenretrieves the ground meat dispensing head 205 and repeats the sameprocess as with the cheese dispensing head 202. The arm then addressesthe food item 202 of interest by interpreting the computer programinstructions. The robot then moves the ground meat dispensing head 205over the object to the programmed positions, controlling the ground meatdispensing head blade. Once dispensing of the ground meat is complete,the robot returns the ground meat dispensing head 205 to the foodingredient dispensing head support surface 207.

The process is repeated for any other ingredients that have a dispensinghead on the food ingredient dispensing head support surface. Once theassembly of the food item is complete the food item 202 is conveyed outof the system to an operator, which may be via the robot 203. A digitaldisplay of the designed object is displayed to the operator allowing theoperator to check the final object and add any ingredients that were notincluded in the ingredient dispensers or to repair any errors created bythe automated system.

Referencing FIG. 3 an exemplary robot 301, having six axis points 302,303, 304, 305, 306, 307, is shown with the dispensing master 308 withoutan ingredient dispensing head attached. Referencing FIG. 4 the robot 401is shown with the pepperoni dispenser 402 attached to the dispensingmaster robot tool 403.

Referencing FIG. 5A an top isometric view of the dispensing master 501is shown with the robot attachment point 502, and ingredient dispenserclamp arms 503. Referencing FIG. 5B, a bottom isometric view shows afood ingredient dispensing head clamping arm 504 and locating pins 506.Referencing FIG. 6 an exploded view of the dispensing master comprisingthe following non-limiting components: tool motor/gearbox base 601, thetool motor or servo motor drive 602, gearbox 608, robot interface plate603, pneumatic cylinders 604, clamp arm tooling 605, servo cover 606,locating pins 607, product clam 609, head adapter 610, fasteners 611,product head adapter 612, slide guide 613, servo cover bolt 614, andslide bolt 615. Referencing FIG. 7, an isometric drawing of a slicedfood, or pepperoni, dispenser is presented having the dispensing master701 with a pepperoni dispenser 702 having a base member 703 forattachment to the dispensing master 701. An alignment and slicingfeature allows for cutting and/or placement of sliced or unslicedpepperoni onto the surface of the food item, such as a pizza. FIG. 8A isan isometric of the pepperoni dispenser without the dispensing masterattached. The dispensing master attachment drive lock 803 allows forattachment of the pepperoni dispenser 801 to the dispensing master (notshown) the support base 801 having a slicer is capable of supporting oneor more pepperoni slicer tubes 802 for automated re-fill and re-use ofdispensers. Turning to FIG. 8B, a bottom isometric view of the slicedfood dispenser slicer tube (pepperoni) 805 comprising a base 804 andthickness adjuster 801 capable of having the slicer 807 slice thepepperoni protruded via the opening 806 below the slicer tube 805.Referencing FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the pepperoni dispensing headshowing the various components of the dispensing head: the slicer base901, sausage or meat product 902, slicer tube 905, slicer drive cam 903,drive lock 904, slice thickness stop 906, involute blade slicer 907,slicer washer 908, mounting bolt 909, slicer clamp 910, and tube clamp911.

Referencing FIG. 10 an isometric view of a cheese grater dispenser head1001 capable of attaching to the dispensing master 1000 via theattachment drive lock 1002. FIG. 11 is an isometric top view of the ofthe cheese grater head 1101 without showing the dispensing master. Thecheese grater head 1101 is capable of attaching to the dispensing mastervia the drive lock 1102. FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the cheesegrater head showing the slicer base 1201, cheese drive cam 1202, cheeseknife grater 1203, cheese press head 1204, cheese press cylinder 1205,cheese ingredient 1206, and drive lock 1207.

Referencing FIGS. 13 and 14 is an isometric of a sauce (or condiment)dispensing head. The sauce is dispensed via a head 1302, which may befed via tubing for continuous supply which is removably attached to thehose fitting 1302. FIG. 14 presents the sauce dispensing head withoutthe dispensing master. A hose fitting 1401 is capable of receiving asource of sauce or liquid condiment, the sauce diffuser 1402 is affixedto the sauce dispensing head via a diffuser retainer 1403. The explodedview of the sauce dispenser head is presented in FIG. 15. The componentsinclude a static base 1501, a sauce diffuser 1502, an internal saucediffuser 1503, a hose fitting 1504 for receiving the liquid sauce orcondiment, and a diffuser retainer 1505.

Referencing FIG. 16 an isometric drawing of a ground product dispenseris presented having the dispensing master 1604 with a ground productdispenser comprising a fixed base 1603 for attachment to the dispensingmaster 1604, an auger present in a funnel configuration 1602, and a feedhopper 1601. FIG. 17 is an isometric of the ground product dispenser1700 without the dispensing master attached. The dispensing masterattachment drive lock 1702 allows for attachment of the ground productdispenser 1700 to the dispensing master (not shown). The feed funnel1704 attaches to the ground product feed hopper 1701 and supports theground product feed auger 1705 which feeds the ground product out thebottom opening of the feed funnel 1704.

FIG. 18 presents an exploded view of the ground product dispensing headshowing the auger feeder base 1801, the drive cam 1802, the drive lock1803, the master gear 1804, a drive gear washer 1805, mounting bolt1806, auger 1807, feed funnel 1808, and the feed hopper with a base1809. The ground product dispensing head is capable of being operablyconnected to the dispensing master for dispensing ground foods, such asburger or sausage, ground spices, or ground vegetables.

In another embodiment, additional feeding heads may be aligned in seriesto feed additional food items. In another embodiment, the feeding headsmay be continuously fed via tubes directed to supply vesicles.

In another embodiment, chillers or enclosed refrigerated work zones maybe utilized to ensure safety and ease of use. In another embodiment,such enclosed preparation zones may be remote, subject to mail order orinternet on-demand order and delivery.

In another embodiment, a vision system, including video recording, maybe implemented to ensure quality, detect errors, and to providedocumentation of food preparation for customers to view and share.

In another embodiment, a cutting or slicing head may be utilized toslice the prepared food, such as a sandwich or pizza, for consumption.In another embodiment, individual slices or unique food designs may beprepared using the present invention, including writings, numbers, andsymbols. Utilizing multiple dispensing heads, varying sizes of similarfoot items may be utilized for designs and creative food preparation,such as alignment of food items which avoid getting cut when slicing orthat have exact uniformity in each slice.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and articles ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in many manners and as suchare not to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments andexamples. In other words, functional elements being performed by singleor multiple components, in various combinations of hardware and softwareor firmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among softwareapplications at either the client level or server level or both. In thisregard, any number of the features of the different embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments,and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of thefeatures described herein are possible.

Functionality may also be, in whole or in part, distributed amongmultiple components, in manners now known or to become known. Thus,myriad software/hardware/firmware combinations are possible in achievingthe functions, features, interfaces and preferences described herein.Moreover, the scope of the present disclosure covers conventionallyknown manners for carrying out the described features and functions andinterfaces, as well as those variations and modifications that may bemade to the hardware or software or firmware components described hereinas would be understood by those skilled in the art now and hereafter.

Furthermore, the embodiments of methods presented and described asflowcharts in this disclosure are provided by way of example in order toprovide a more complete understanding of the technology. The disclosedmethods are not limited to the operations and logical flow presentedherein. Alternative embodiments are contemplated in which the order ofthe various operations is altered and in which sub-operations describedas being part of a larger operation are performed independently. Whilevarious embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure,such embodiments should not be deemed to limit the teaching of thisdisclosure to those embodiments. Various changes and modifications maybe made to the elements and operations described above to obtain aresult that remains within the scope of the systems and processesdescribed in this disclosure.

For the purposes of the present invention, the finished food item mayfurther be cooked, baked, aged, cooled, froze, or otherwise finishedfollowing the preparation step of the food items. In another embodiment,a protective enclosure, which may comprise packaging or freeze drying,may then be then applied.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and articles ofthe present invention may be implemented in many manners and as such arenot to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments and examples.In other words, functional elements being performed by single ormultiple components, in various combinations of hardware and software orfirmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among softwareapplications at either the client level or server level or both. In thisregard, any number of the features of the different embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments,and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of thefeatures described herein are possible.

Functionality may also be, in whole or in part, distributed amongmultiple components, in manners now known or to become known. Thus,myriad software/hardware/firmware combinations are possible in achievingthe functions, features, interfaces and preferences described herein.Moreover, the scope of the present invention covers conventionally knownmanners for carrying out the described features and functions andinterfaces, as well as those variations and modifications that may bemade to the hardware or software or firmware components described hereinas would be understood by those skilled in the art now and hereafter.

Alternative embodiments are contemplated in which the order of thevarious operations is altered and in which sub-operations described asbeing part of a larger operation are performed independently. Whilevarious embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure,such embodiments should not be deemed to limit the teaching of thisdisclosure to those embodiments. Various changes and modifications maybe made to the elements and operations described above to obtain aresult that remains within the scope of the systems and processesdescribed in this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for preparation of food items,comprising: a. a robot assembly having a dispensing master; b. one ormore of a removably attachable food ingredient dispensing head withinreach of the dispensing master of the robot assembly, wherein the one ormore removably attachable food ingredient dispensing head is selectedfrom a group consisting of: sauce dispensing heads, cheese dispensingheads, sliced food dispensing heads, and ground food dispensing heads,wherein the dispensing master is operably connectible to the each of oneor more removably attachable food ingredient dispensing heads; c. a foodingredient dispensing head support surface for storing the one or morefood ingredient dispensing heads within reach of the robot assembly; d.a food preparation surface within reach of the robot assembly forpreparing food items; and e. a controller in electronic communicationwith the robot assembly via a communication link further comprising acomputing device, memory storing computer-executable instructions, andone or more processors.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the robotassembly comprises a multi-axis robot configurable to performpredetermined movements.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thedispensing master further comprises a master tool motor.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the dispensing master further comprises agripping device for removably attaching a food ingredient dispensinghead.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more foodingredient dispensing heads comprise at least one sauce dispensing head.6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more food ingredientdispensing heads comprise at least one cheese dispensing head.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more food ingredient dispensingheads comprise at least one sliced food dispensing head.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more food ingredient dispensingheads comprise at least one ground food dispensing head.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the sauce dispensing head furthercomprises a reservoir and a pump capable of pumping sauce from thereservoir onto the food item.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecheese dispensing head further comprises a grating disk driven by adispensing master tool motor and a cylinder for applying pressure to acheese block.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cheesedispensing head further comprises a thermo-coupler operably connected toa chilled coupler while in storage to maintain temperature of thecheese.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ground food dispensinghead further comprises a paddle wheel or auger driven by a dispensingmaster tool motor moves ingredients out of a reservoir onto the fooditems.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sliced food dispensinghead further comprises a blade for slicing meat extruded through astorage tube located on the sliced food dispensing head, said bladedriven by a dispensing master tool motor, and wherein the sliced food issliced to drop onto a food item at a programmed position.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a food preparation surfacetransfer device for transferring food into and from the food preparationsurface.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the surface transferdevice comprises a conveyor belt.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe surface transfer device comprises a tray system removable by therobot assembly.
 17. A method for placement of food items on athree-dimensional object, comprising: a. positioning a food preparationsurface within reach of a robot assembly having a dispensing master; b.removably and operably attaching one or more food ingredient dispensingheads to the dispensing master located on the robot assembly, whereinthe one or more removably attachable food ingredient dispensing headsare selected from a group consisting of: sauce dispensing heads, cheesedispensing heads, sliced food dispensing heads, and ground fooddispensing heads; c. dispensing at least one food ingredient from the atleast one of the one or more food ingredient dispensing heads at apreconfigured location via the robot assembly having attached the atleast one food ingredient dispensing head; and d. repeating steps (a)through (c) for the number of food ingredients desired for the number offood items on the food preparation surface.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising dispensing sauce from the sauce dispensing head ontoa food item from a reservoir pressurized by a pump capable ofpressurizing sauce from the reservoir, through the sauce dispensing headonto the food item.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprisingdispensing cheese from the dispensing head onto food items by a gratingdisk driven by a dispensing master tool motor and a cylinder forapplying pressure to a cheese block.
 20. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising dispensing ground food from the ground food dispensing headby operating an auger driven by the dispensing master tool motor to moveground food out of a hopper onto food items.
 21. The method of claim 17,further comprising dispensing sliced food from the sliced fooddispensing head by operating a blade for slicing food extruded through astorage tube located on the sliced food dispensing head, said bladedriven by a dispensing master tool motor, and wherein the sliced food issliced to drop onto a food item at a programmed position.
 22. The methodof claim 17, further comprising automatically transferring food items toand from the food preparation surface.
 23. The method of claim 22,wherein the surface transfer device comprises a conveyor belt on thefood preparation surface.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein thesurface transfer device comprises a tray system removable by the robotassembly.